Here is one marketing tactic that has multiple benefits.

First, do an online search for websites that are related to the subject of your book. Second, send a friendly, personalized email to the contact person at each of the websites requesting that a link to your book's website (and a blurb, if possible) be placed on their website.

In exchange, add their link to your site.  Such "link exchanges" are common practice and are welcomed because everyone benefits.

When you create a link exchange you are accomplishing many things at once:

1) By sending emails to contacts at key websites, you are making sure people with the power to influence others know about your book (not to mention these people may also be interested in buying a copy).

2) People who visit websites that cover the same subject as your book are highly likely to be interested in your book.

3) Your site will have better search engine rankings, which will increase the likelihood that your website will appear when a person does a search on terms that match the content of your book. (This assumes your website is search engine optimized – see the Author Insider article, Improve Your Website’s Search Engine Rankings) Many of the top search engines count the number of links to a particular site as an important part of determining that site’s value. The greater the number of links, the higher the site’s value, and the closer the site is to the number one position in search engine results (thus, your book’s website is seen by more people).

Before making your request, take a few minutes to explore the site. When writing the email to request a link exchange, keep the email brief and to the point, dedicate a sentence or two to why your book is a good fit for the site, and say something complimentary about their site. At the end of the email be sure to provide the link to your website along with a 2-3 sentence description of your site to be included with your link. If you want to be proactive, add their link to your site before sending the email and tell the contact where on your site their link can be viewed.

Every new link to your website is an opportunity for someone new to discover you and your book.

By David Tortorelli

David Tortorelli is editor of Author Insider and serves as president of the book marketing firm, Book Premieres.